Kabira is Eight!

Kabira turned 8 yesterday – it seems like just yesterday that we brought her home. She was so little I carried her on my lap. How sweet. She is a loyal friend, quick to play crazy, yet happy to cuddle.

Bella was so happy when we brought Kabira home – she felt that Kabira was her special friend right from the start. They played and played, running around the giant haystack in the backyard. They are still good friends, although there is less play and more cuddling together on the futon.

 

One of the games she likes to play is in the evening, after she’s gotten in from her bedtime out, is to run around the house looking for me. I’ve used up all the hiding spots! She was slow to track me down at first, but she has learned how to use her nose to advantage and now I rarely have to wait in my hiding spot.

Every now and again she goes crazy running in the field. She zigs and zags and does about turns in the air. She is something to see.

She is fiercely protective of Spike – woe to anyone who might hurt him.

 

She has a short coat with no undercoat so feels the cold. She loves to have her “outfit” on and will run from anywhere in the house if I ask her if she wants to wear it. Once on she prances around a bit, clearly pleased.

Kabira and Grace have a good relationship. Kabira cleans up under Grace’s cage, sometimes even licking the food from her feet. I’ve only seen Grace bite her a few times - they seem to have an understanding.

She’s a great dog.

 

 

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace. 
~ Milan Kundera

Guess Who Is Six Today!

Sorry for all the photos…

 

Bread and Cake, and Kisses too

The first chords of "If" by Bread started playing on the TV; I immediately started singing along, remembering most of the words, even though I haven't heard it for years, perhaps even decades. As I was singing along I couldn't help but wonder, why do I remember the words to a stupid song, but fail to remember simple facts about important things? Perhaps if important things were set to music I'd have a better chance of remembering!

We had a quiet Valentines Day at home. As I went about getting supper ready, I remembered a Valentines a long time ago. I was probably about 15 years old, when I accompanied my friend Heather to audition for 'Miss Teen Ottawa'. I never would have gone to do something like that myself, but as often happened I got caught up in what Heather was doing (sometimes for the good, but often for the bad).

I recall being asked in the interview what I aspired to do. My answer was thought up on the spot, as I had no real aspirations, certainly no serious ones. So what did I answer? Well, I wanted to go across Canada on dog sled! At that point in my life I'd only had two dogs. The first was a stray with one blind eye, that I called Shep, but that's another story. At the time of the interview I had a little toy poodle called "Thor". He didn't pull a sled (although I had tried to get him to). I don't even think I even knew any sled dogs. The interviewer must have thought I was just another crazy, ditzy teenage girl (I was).

When I got home from the ordeal, Mom had made our family a nice supper, complete with a special heart cake for dessert. I think we each got one whole cake - my favourite golden glow cake. She is always doing special things like that.

Dad’s birthday was on Thursday so I joined them for lunch. We had a lovely time chowing down on dim sum (yum)

With the cold weather lately, and Spike’s mostly hairless ear, I’ve been putting a hat/scarf on him to go outside. He doesn’t seem to mind.

 

You've got this life and while you've got it, you'd better kiss like you only have one moment, try to hold someone's hand like you will never get another chance to, look into people's eyes like they're the last you'll ever see, watch someone sleeping like there's no time left, jump if you feel like jumping, run if you feel like running, play music in your head when there is none, and eat cake like it's the only one left in the world! ~C. JoyBell C.

Yet There It Sits

Some people love to sew. I am not one of those people. Yet, there the sewing machine sits, mocking me, from its roost on the big harvest table in the middle of our living space. I can't walk from the sofa to the kitchen without passing it. The mess it creates gnaws at the back of my eyes. I like things neat and tidy.

Yet there it sits. Waiting for me to start my next project. Today I was goaded into finally hemming those new drapes for the bedroom. I feel a sense of relief, at least temporarily. I'm not sure what my next project will be: pillow shams for our bedroom; window valances for our bathroom; treat/poop bag pouch; slightly bigger outfit for Kabira (who is wearing the one I just made every day). Oh yes. I love sewing (not).

Speaking of Kabira and her clothes, she is wanting to have them on day and night. It is nice to see her stretched out on the futon and not curled into the smallest ball she can get into. She is so funny when we put one on her - she prances around the house, pleased as punch. I've never known a dog who likes to dress up as much as she does.

I seem to be spending all my time exercising or cooking food. Or crashed in exhaustion on the sofa. Maybe that's why the sewing projects are not progressing very quickly. It seems hard to believe that we are already mid-Feb. Three months and we could be camping (maybe even earlier if weather permits) - I'd better get cracking.

Is everyone watching the Olympics? I will confess to not really watching at all. I suppose if I recorded it on my pvr and then fast forwarded through all the babble, I would at least watch some of the events, instead I am subjected to CNN... I take that back, no so much CNN; we've started watching Stargate SG1 - right from the very first episode. Did you know it was mostly recorded in Canada.

I'm grateful for the sun today. I'm also grateful that I am healthy enough to exercise, and move like I have been doing.

There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance. ~William Sharp

Blown Away

We picked up the snow blower on Thursday. Not literally though, as it weights a couple of hundred pounds. To back up a few hours, we had a "discussion" about getting it delivered as I was pretty sure it would be too heavy for me to lift (it was). My arguments didn't hold any weight (ha ha), so off we went in the truck. After the transaction had been completed, Carm and the young (strong) man loaded it into the back of the truck.

Ok, we got it home, now what.

As we've done many times in the past, we let our brains do the work. Carm manoeuvred the truck up against the front deck (again, we are glad we haven't gotten around to putting up a railing – procrastination sometimes pays off!). A few heavy boards and we had a ramp between truck and deck. From the deck it was another ramp, with easy steps to get to the ground. I had to lift at one point, but only for a few seconds.

Hurrah!

As soon as we pushed it away from the house (man that thing is heavy), we fired it up and took turns blowing snow around. I'm pretty sure I just ended up blowing a bunch of yellow snow into my face though :-/ Regardless, it was fun to test it out; but, I know FOR SURE it would not be fun to do the whole laneway. I figure it would take close to 2 hours (at least) to get it done, so we will certainly be sticking with our snow guy.

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. ~ Henry Ford

Hot Diggity No Hotdog

On Tuesday Carm finally got to see Gravity, in 3D Imax. Apparently it was quite riveting - and not my sort of movie at all. Scenes with people floating loose in space freak me out a bit!

While Carm was at the theatre with Don, I got to visit with Jo Ellen, and a good visit it was!

On our way home we stopped at Costco to pick up a few things, and I'll have to tell you, if there weren't so many things to taste I would have not been able to resist my craving for a hotdog. WTH! Who gets a craving for hotdogs? Strangely both Carm and I are afflicted with this terrible craving. We've resisted so far, and will hopefully continue to resist - the Costco hotdog, with bun, has around 550 calories. Yikes! I’ve been really careful with my eating, plus I’ve been working out like crazy, so to blow it all for a crummy hotdog just seems crazy!

It snowed again Wednesday. Not much, but enough to mess up the roads. Carm is fed up with shovelling the end of the laneway, so is shopping for a snow blower. I say "yeah", as I always worry when he is shovelling so much heavy snow...

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. ~Robert J Collier

Let the Other Kids Play

The sun was shining, there was little wind, and the thermometer was favourable – in other words, a beautiful day to go outside and play in the snow. The snowshoes were calling! Instead I sat inside, out of the sun and cold, watching Carm and the dogs have fun. I had a treatment on my face this morning so I can’t go out for a few days and felt like the kid who has to watch her friends from the window.

The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure. ~D. H. Lawrence